


The Ashes of A Phoenix

by CrystalHeartZyx



Series: ON HOLD STORIES [4]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 08:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19247614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalHeartZyx/pseuds/CrystalHeartZyx
Summary: The Phoenix, Asushunamir, is brought in by the Raven, Sebastian, to protect Ciel Phantomhive, however she has her own reason for wanting to serve the boy, far more than mere entertainment. As Namir becomes integrated into the Phantomhive family, she comes closer to her goal with each passing moment, searching for what had long since been stolen from her, no matter what the cost.





	1. A Punching Bag

"Raven, what brings you here? I'm always happy to be graced with your presence, however there must be a reason for your visit. I sense you're under contract right now. Not feeding off of every human you can find?"

"I've grown tired of feasting upon every meal I can get my hands on. It gets ever so dreadful. I have indeed found an interesting soul to make a contract with."

"And what would you need my help with, Raven? I know you're fully capable of fulfilling the wishes of the boy for his soul on your own. Else you wouldn't be much of a demon, now would you?"

"The boy is the heir to an upper class family, and as of recent events, he is now the young master of his household. I am assembling a proper staff worthy of defending as well as tending to the manor for him."

"Relying on humans to do work for you?"

"Admittedly, they aren't quite skilled in their servant duties, however they do prove useful as fighters."

"I understand. Humans do the lesser work of tending to a large household. They provide entertainment from being only you and your master, as well as handling situations that would require you to get your hands dirty far more often than necessary, as it would impede in your duties as your master's servant. It wouldn't so much as cause true issues as it would simply annoy you."

"And I request you join my staff as well. I need a guard to the manor as well as my young master. I work as a butler, always by his side. However, a true figure of protection would ward off numerous attacks as well as handle the issues of ambushes."

"You want me to be a punching bag. I take the role as the main defense against your master, and so those who wish to target him will ultimately come after me first."

"To put it simply, yes."

"I'm flattered. Does this job require me to make an oath such as you have, binding me to your master by contract or otherwise?"

"No."

"Ah, I see. You wish for me to be the one to break your young master's orders should he make false judgements. Do you have anything to offer me in return for this job?"

He smiled. "I know you, Phoenix. The prospect of entertainment will provide more than enough payment."

"You raise a proper point. Sadly, humans don't ever dare challenge me these days. My reputation proceeds me in this world, the next, and everything in between. I admit, your offer of a little fun does interest me. For how long do you expect this soul to take?"

"A few years, not simply a short week-long endeavor."

"A hard case, or merely a slow master?"

"Both, or quite possibly neither. My young master likes to refer to a game of chess. The journey will be great, the battle hard and slow the entire way, yet the thrill of putting the pieces together, crushing your opponent before you after the long fight is very amusing, and proves to be a worthy game indeed."

"Hm, this master of yours sounds  _does_  sound mighty intriguing. Very well. I accept your offer, Raven."

"Please, call me Sebastian. Sebastian Michaelis."

"Is that what your master decided to call you? How cute. But you and he shall call me by my own preferred name, if you would."

"And that would be, Phoenix?"

"Asushunamir Hotareichan. Nice to meet you, Sebastian Michaelis."


	2. A Night of a Phantomhive Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want this to follow the cannon storyline or no? P.S., I have only ever watched the anime. Too lazy to go and read the books, but I have read up on things with the glories of Wikipedia as well as talked to my friend who actually have read the manga.
> 
> Any info would be helpful, though. Aka, review!

"How has the night gone, Namir?"

"Smooth as ever," She said, swiping her hand through her dirty-blonde curls.

Sebastian nodded and headed in to tend to Ciel's morning routine, opening the curtains, making him his morning tea and breakfast, as well as getting him dressed.

The years serving the Phantomhive manor proved to be quiet entertaining. Gangs and cults never seemed to get the hint that Ciel had great protection, and that no lackeys ever sent to eliminate him ever came back alive. If anything, it seemed to provoke  _more_  challenges, something that Namir was happy to take care of.

* * *

_"If you would be so kind as to please choose a gender, Phoenix."_

_"Aw, man. Okay,_ fine _."_

_Their body shifted and morphed until it revealed a female form. "Ta-da!"_

_"Why a female?"_

_"You wanted a gender, I gave you a gender. Besides, females look ever more innocent and easy to target, so more people will be willing to directly come and attack me. Plus I love to see the fear within one's eyes when they realize a woman just kicked their arse and killed them painfully!"_

_"I'm not sure if anyone will take you seriously at all, if the guard of the famous Phantomhive is a woman."_

_"Sexist humans. I'll show them I can rock this female look_ and _do my job better than any of them. Perhaps it'll gain me some fame. Or, to put it more accurately, notoriety."_

_"Fine, but you're not going to be able to wear that armor of yours."_

_"What? Ugh, humans and their style choices. This outfit was common 3,000 years ago, you know. What is up with them, always changing their clothing trends?"_

_"Here, this jacket will signify your status."_

_"Ooo, I like it."_

_"You can transform into your armor whenever you need, however this is the standard uniform of the times. It's built for a man, however, so-_ _"_

_"It's perfect! Now, when do I start?"_

_"I'll introduce you to the rest of the staff and you can get settled into the schedules. Welcome to the Phantomhive manor, Phoenix."_

* * *

Namir held her hand out and caught a bullet between her index and middle fingers.

She was making her daily rounds, and was currently going about the perimeter of the manor, when she found a small group of men staking out the building from the bushes. The moment she passed, a bullet came flying her way, and she caught it with ease.

She suddenly zipped over to the group of men, faster than the eye could see. "I think you dropped this."

The group exclaimed in surprise. "A woman?" "How did she-?" "What the devil-?"

Namir kicked one man in the side of the head, zipped over and punched another in the gut, kicked another in the groin and so on. Within seconds, the entire platoon was down, and she was little more than bored.

She walked over to one of them who wasn't unconscious and pulled him up by his hair. "So, who do you work for, little man?"

"P-Please…please don't-!"

"I can't  _hear_  you~!"

"I don't know much. I'm not in charge. The boss just told us we had a target, nothing else."

"Boss?"

"I don't know who. I'm not high enough in the ranks."

"Just a poor little lackey, are you?" She sighed. "Fine."

She then smashed his head into the ground with a sickening  _CRUNCH_.

She stood straight and swiped her hands together before examining the scene of dead men. "Hm, pretty messy, I suppose. We do have guests expected in a couple hours."

She waved her hand and all of the men - blood, guts and all - exploded into ashes, shifting on their own as if blown by a breeze, before taking the shape of a field of flowers and then solidifying into just that.

She picked a white flower. "Much better."

Heading back inside, she found Sebastian working in the kitchen.

"Anything interesting?" He asked.

She shrugged. "No. Just lackeys. None of 'em knew who they were getting the orders from, they just know they had a target. On the bright side, we've got more flowers for decorating ready outside to be picked."

The bell for the Study rang. "I'll be back. Please keep Baldroy from bringing his flamethrower in here."

Sebastian walked off, and Namir twirled her waist-long hair while she waited for him to return.

Another Phantomhive guest was coming tonight, and Sebastian took things as seriously as ever. That Raven was dedicated to say the least. One might even think he  _liked_  working as a butler.

When Sebastian returned to continue cooking dinner, she headed out to check the security once more. It was always a boring wait for guests to arrive, most of the time, as Sebastian usually handled everything himself, the rest of the staff usually making a mess and doing far more harm than help.

Ciel was having a banquet tonight, inviting numerous people to chat with about his work and such. Ciel had a good deal of people planned to come this evening, even children were being brought.

When the guests finally  _did_  arrive, Sebastian was at work outside, inviting the guests in and surreptitiously watching out for any hostiles. It was Namir's turn tonight to look after the guests inside for the first shift, as well as keep an eye on Ciel. As always, with such events, she wandered around talking with people, despite tiring of the night very quickly.

When all the guests had arrived and Sebastian took over guarding Ciel, Namir wandered around the crowd of guests.

"Mama! Mama, save me!"

A little girl who couldn't be older than five sprinted through the crowd of bodies and grabbed Namir's leg tightly. She looked down in surprise to find it was a girl she didn't recognize. She kneeled and pulled the girl up into her arms before standing straight.

When the girl noticed who had picked her up, she looked surprised. "You're not mama."

"Chichi!"

A boy around Ciel's age hurried through the crowd towards Namir.

"Is this your sister, young man?" Namir asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry if she was bothering you."

"Nonsense, she's not much of a hassle. Where are your parents?"

He looked around. "Uh…they're…"

He was too short to see past the crowd of men and women, so Namir took his hand. "Come, I'll help you find them. What's your name?"

"Alexander. Xander. That's Chichi. She's a bit shy around new people, so she's not very talkative with strangers."

"Well, how about we go over and get you two some food? The buffet tables are bound to be a recognizable location that your parents will be able to spot you from."

She guided Xander with one arm while carrying Chichi with her other, until they reached the long table full of snacks that Sebastian (naturally) had prepared. She told Xander he was free to choose what he wanted, but Chichi was too short to get anything on her own.

"What do you want, hon?" Namir asked her.

She looked hesitant to ask for anything, not because she was shy, not completely, but more out of respect. After all, asking a stranger for something felt like she was taking advantage of their generosity.

"How about one of these little sandwiches? They're really good. Trust me, I know the guy who made them."

She looked to the offered food reluctantly, before reaching out and grabbing it to take a bite.

"It's okay, honey. You're fine."

She got more comfortable eating the food, and Namir smiled at gaining the trust of the child. She seemed to relax in the Phoenix's arms, and held on to her heavy jacket rather than keeping her hands together in front of her, and as Namir talked about random things to keep her calm, she smiled and even began to nod or shake her head at questions.

"So, do you like dogs? I'm a dog person. Sebastian, my friend, hates them, but he's a sucker for a cute kitty."

"I have a kitty."

Namir smiled at her, for this was the first time she'd spoken since they'd met. "Really? Sebastian would  _love_ to come over. He would spend all day every day with a cat. Sadly, our master is allergic, so we can't have any, and he hates that it distracts him so much."

Namir managed to keep the conversation going, and was almost hopeful that her parents wouldn't come find her for just a little longer.

By the time that Xander went running into the crowd, having spotted his parents, Namir and Chichi were having an interactive conversation, Namir celebrating a personal victory each time she got the young girl to giggle or laugh.

"Chichi, Alexander, there you are," A blonde-haired woman said. She bared an uncanny resemblance to Chichi, and even had a few resembling traits to Xander, so there was no doubt that this was their mother.

"Hello Mrs.…?"

"Jay. Rachel Jay. And this is my husband Grant."

She referenced to a brown-haired man, who also held the traits of their children.

"Thank you for finding our children," He said. "They ran off the second we took our eyes off of them for one moment."

"It's no trouble. Your daughter is quite adorable."

She giggled at the comment, and her parents looked to her in surprise.

"She's rather shy, you see," Rachel explained. "I've never seen her open up to a stranger so quickly. Usually it takes three or four meetings for her to adjust to them."

"She's a good girl. She respects strangers, doesn't ask for their kindness as though it's expected instantly. Very generous child, and she has her manners. I think we've become fast friends."

"That's good to hear. But we have to go now, sweetheart. Both of you need your sleep, and it's far past your bedtime, little lady."

"Aw…" Chichi whined. "But mama…"

"No 'but's. Perhaps you can see her next time."

"Okay…"

Namir passed her over to her mother's arms.

"Oh! I suppose we don't even know your name."

"Asushunamir, but you can call me Su, or Shu, or Namir, or…well, you get the point. Asushunamir is quite a mouthful sometimes."

She laughed. "I understand. Thank you for helping our children."

"It's no problem. I…I've always wanted a daughter. I just…uh, haven't found the one yet."

"You're a beautiful and kind young woman. I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

"Thank you."

"Thank  _you_. Now we must go, but I look forward to meeting you again, and I know Chichi does as well."

"Yay!"

"Goodnight, ma'am," Grant said as the group left.

As they walked off, Chichi waved with a smile over her mother's shoulder. Namir waved back to Chichi with her own smile as they walked out of sight.

"I never took you for a child-lover," Sebastian said from behind her.

"And I never took you for a cat-lover, but we're all full of surprises."

"Oh don't be like that, Phoenix. You'd be an…interesting mother."

"I'd be a better mother than you, Raven. And a better father, for that matter."

"I'd imagine your child would be quite deadly. And any man willing to be the father of your child would have to be very enduring."

"Yeah, fuck you too, Sebastian."

"Oh, I'm not that crazy. I'll pass."

She shoved him hard and stomped off.

* * *

"I can't believe Baldo," Ciel muttered. "How is it possible that after two years, he's still unable to refrain from using explosives in the kitchen? He's going to destroy the manor twenty times over this month alone. Not to mention Finny's strength and Mey-Rin's clumsiness. Having to dedicate an entire day to repairs and shopping for all the things destroyed. Honestly."

"A day of shopping never killed anyone," Namir said.

"Well, it probably has killed  _someone_ , but that's only under circumstances," Sebastian corrected.

"My point is, a day off of your lessons and business meetings might do you good, master."

"The only thing it's done is give me more to do later on to make up for lost time."

"At least you don't have to carry anything, and you have some super-strong helpers to do it for you. Today has also gone without incident. It's already sundown and we're back at the carriage again."

They loaded the things atop the carriage and Sebastian opened the door to allow Ciel inside. Namir moved to climb in across from him, when she froze and looked back to the city.

"Asushunamir, what is wrong?" Ciel asked impatiently.

"There is something I must attend to, master. Sebastian can handle the rest."

Before either could protest, she zipped off through the alleys of Britain, moving faster than the eye could see.

She smelled it, she sensed it.

A family was being held at gunpoint. They were nobles, that was obvious enough. The family was backed into a dead-end alley.

The father was shot first as he tried to rush up and attack. The mother was shot next, holding her daughter behind her. She was too young to understand death, too young to  _have_  to understand. But her brother wasn't.

"Mama?" She asked, shaking her shoulder gently. "Mama…?"

Her brother pulled her away, the last defense between his sister and death.

"They'll fit the bill," One of the gunmen said. "Take 'em."

Even the little girl understood the danger, and curled up in her brother's arms, gripping him tightly and whimpering in fear. He could do nothing but put on the bravest front he could while covering his little sister.

Suddenly the men were sent back by a powerful blast of air. All cried out in surprise to find a man in a military uniform with long, blonde, curly hair.

"Hurting children? Now that is low."

They all trained their guns on him only to realize it was actually a  _her_.

"A woman?" "How'd she-?"

"I won't allow you to touch these children."

"Shoot her!"

The fired their guns, but she held her arm out as though holding up a shield, clenching a fist, and a barrier shimmered in front of her, catching the bullets in mid-air.

"I think these belong to you."

She swiped her hand forward and the bullets shot towards the men, taking out the majority of them with a chorus of screams.

"I am the Phoenix. You will not escape my wrath on this night."

She thrust her hand to the side and a wing shot out from her back, twice her height in length. The layered feathers faded from purple to red to orange down, and the final feathers went in the reverse order, ending in the purple the wing began with.

"Goodnight."

She swung the wing forward and it sent out a wave of air before shooting forward a barrage of feathers, deadly sharp, piercing, and unavoidable.

When only a pile of corpses remained at her feet, she sheathed her wing and turned towards the children. Alexander was shielding his little sister with his body, and when he saw Shu approach, he only held on tighter.

Shu kneeled and offered a hand. "It's all right, sweetheart. The bad guys are gone now."

She snapped and all of the fallen men behind her shattered to dust before reforming into a carriage out on the streets. "I'll take you home."

Chichi peaked her eye out to see Shu and smiled. She moved to run forward, but her brother stopped her. "No! We're not going anywhere with you, monster!"

"Oh, but why? I can assure you, no harm shall come to you again."

"I don't know what you are, but stay away from us!"

"Come now. Chichi, do you feel the same?"

The little girl looked between her brother and Shu. Xander shook his head no, but Chichi surged forward to meet the kind woman's hand. She smiled and hefted her into her arms despite her brother's protests.

"Let us be off. I shall figure something out for you."

She turned to walk to the carriage she'd created, when a man jumped down from the building beside them. Wearing the signature suit and glasses, as well as carrying a scythe, he was instantly recognizable by those familiar with the species.

"Reaper, what business have you here?"

"You know this drill, Asushunamir," He said, pushing up his glasses calmly. "These children are destined to die, and you are going to interfere like always. Honestly, the overtime you cause me is quite stressful."

"Overtime, huh? You spend way too much time with William, Reaper."

"Do not interfere with this collection. This is your one and only warning."

Behind Reaper, a man shot a bullet past him and Alexander fell to the ground, bleeding from his chest.

"Hands up, both of you!" He shouted.

Shu flicked out her tongue and it shot out a whip-like string of fire that disintegrated the man completely on contact.

"Brother…?" Chichi muttered.

"Shh, darling," Shu whispered. "It's all right. Just rest now."

She put her hand on the girl's forehead, and she passed out.

"You wish for me to let the child die?"

"I don't wish for it," Reaper corrected. "It is what must be done."

"' _What must be done,_ ' huh? Even a demon can care for a life, have pity. But you, you Grim Reapers are left with nothing. No compassion, no care. If you are part god, then all demons must be angels compared to you, and every angel a demon. There is nothing just in what you do."

"I care not for your speeches. Stand down now, or I will have to remove you from the equation."

She scoffed. "The man I once knew would never say such a thing. Becoming Reaper has changed you, not that I'm surprised. But know this. I  _will_  wake you up. You shall see the light once more if it is the last thing I do, love. But for now…"

She set the girl down, leaning her gently against the wall, before turning and holding her hand out. With a flash, ashes began to crawl from her hand and into her palm, building outwards into a long blade of her phoenix colors.

"I'm content with facing you in battle once more!"


End file.
